John McClelland (born 7 December 1955) is a former

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

international

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played for several teams during a 23-year career. He worked for Leeds United as part of the tour groups for

Elland Road Elland Road, or Elland Road Stadium, is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the Home (sports), home of Leeds United F.C., Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the List of foot ...

Club career

McClelland played for

Portadown Portadown ( ) is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town is based on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population ...

, Cardiff City, Bangor City (he was

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup (), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the most prestigious of the cup competitions ...

runner up with both of these clubs), and

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...

, before signing for Rangers for £90,000 in June 1981. There he won two

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...

winner's medals, and was twice a

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

paid £225,000 for his services. During his five years at Vicarage Road he was voted Watford Player of the Season twice. He later played for Leeds United, where he played 18 times as Leeds won the

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was the top division of the Football League in England from 1888 until the end of the 1991–92 season, when its teams broke away to form the Premier League. From 1992 to 2004, the name First Division was g ...

title in the 1991–92 season, the last season before the formation of the Premier League. During his time at Leeds he spent time on loan at old club Watford and Notts County. In his later career he spent a season at St Johnstone as player manager, had a brief spell in the Irish League with Carrick Rangers, before playing for

Arbroath Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the Subdivisions of Scotland, council area of Angus, Scotland, Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902. It lies on the North Sea coast, some east-northeast of ...

, Wycombe Wanderers, Yeovil Town and

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

. By the time he retired he had played in every country in the United Kingdom and in every tier of English football.

International career

At international level McClelland was also successful. He played for

at the 1982 and 1986 World Cups. He eventually won 53 caps, scoring one goal in a win over

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. He was also captain of Northern Ireland from after the 1986 World Cup until his retirement in 1990.

International goals

''Scores and results list Northern Ireland's goal tally first. ''

Post football

He was player-manager at St Johnstone in the early 1990s. For a brief time after retirement McClelland could be found working at Leeds United taking tour groups around

. He is now a postman in the Wakefield area.

Honours

Player

Rangers *

Winners: 1983-84 1984-85 Leeds United *

champions: 1991–92

Manager

St Johnstone * Forfarshire Cup : 1992-93

References

External links

John McClelland
Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Database {{DEFAULTSORT:McClelland, John 1955 births Living people Association footballers from Belfast Men's association footballers from Northern Ireland Association football managers from Northern Ireland Northern Ireland men's international footballers Cardiff City F.C. players Bangor City F.C. players Mansfield Town F.C. players Rangers F.C. players Watford F.C. players Leeds United F.C. players Notts County F.C. players St Johnstone F.C. players St Johnstone F.C. managers Wycombe Wanderers F.C. players Yeovil Town F.C. players Darlington F.C. players Portadown F.C. players 1982 FIFA World Cup players 1986 FIFA World Cup players NIFL Premiership players English Football League players Scottish Football League players Scottish Football League managers Arbroath F.C. players Leeds United F.C. non-playing staff Men's association football defenders Carrick Rangers F.C. players Men's association football player-managers